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VI. MYSTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF JAINA ETHICS
173
We have often shown how this Mithyātva is corruptive of knowledge and conduct as well. In its presence, both knowledge and conduct, however extensive and suffused with morality they may be, are impotent to disintegrate the hostile elements of the soul and to lead us to those superb heights which are called mystical. Consequently, the darkest period in the history of the self will be the one when the self is overwhelmed by Mithyātva. It obstructs all our mystical endeavours. The souls right from the one-sensed to the mindless five-sensed fall a victim to this venom of Mithyātva, till they are born as five-sensed souls endowed with mind. It is astounding that, even in these rational five-sensed beings, some are such as will never triumph over this darkest period, and hence they will never win salvation. They are technically called abhavyas. Thus they will always be subject to the rounds of birth and death in sundry forms, falling an easy prey to interminable afflictions. The physical counterpart of perversion is Darsana-Mohanīya-Karma. The tendency of the perverted self is to engross itself in the modifications.2 Led astray by the perverted attitude, the soul identifies itself with bodily colour, physical frame, sex, caste, creed, family, friends and wealth.3 “Under its influence one accepts the Adharma (wrong religion) as the Dharma (right religion), the Amārga (wrong path) as the Mārga (right path), the Ajīva (non-soul) as the Jīva (soul) the Asādhu (non-saint) as the Sādhu (saint), the Amukta (unemancipated) as the Mukta (emancipated) and vice-versa."4 Besides, if the soul with its vitiated outlook advances on the moral path, it esteems the observance of vows, performance of austerities, study of scriptures, as ends in themselves, and not as aids to the unfoldment of the divine within. Thus Vyavahāra Naya is deemed to be an ideal. We may sum up by saying that the state of perversion is to be recognised as the state of Bahirātman, which conception has already been dealt with.
TYPES OF MITHYĀTVA: To dwell upon the types of Mithyātva, in view of the infinite-fold characteristics of a thing, there are as many Nayas as there are characteristics. Words may not be available to express them, but it is beyond doubt that as many words are available so many are the Nayas; and if any of the Nayas is exclusively given expression without due regard to the other aspects, the same number of perverted
1 Samaya. Comm. Amfta., 275. 2 PP. I. 77. 3 Ibid. 80 to 83. 4 Sthānanga Sūtra X-1-734; (vide Tatia: Studies in Jaina Philosophy. p. 145. 5 Samaya. 272 to 274.
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